2. You water your plant every week.

Well, maybe. You might find yourself watering your plant every week. But it shouldn’t be because your calendar tells you so.

I feel this myth started because new plant parents want to know how often to water their plants, and the quick and easy answer they often get is “you water about once a week”. And that is where it goes wrong. The most important bit of information is missing.

It’s not your schedule, it’s your plant that will tell you when its time to water it. You can use the once a week schedule as a reminder to check if your plant needs water. Look at the soil. Feel it. If it is still moist, you should not water it. Watering when it still has water will prevent the soil from ever drying out and the roots will be prone to rot.

3. If you want your plant to grow big, put it in a big pot.

No. Just no. Don’t do it. Your plant will literarily drown in all that space.

Indoor plants do best when their pot is balanced in size with the size of the plant and its roots. If your pot is too large for the plant, there is too much soil surrounding the roots. When you water your plant, it will stay wet too long and becomes more susceptible to root rot.

Next time you have to re-pot a plant, choose a pot one size up from the current pot. You want the roots to have some room to re-grow, but not drown.

4. You water your plant when it’s wilting.

Watch out with this one. This obviously happens with good intentions. Your plant looks sad, so you want to perk it up with some water.

While it is true that most plants will show signs of wilting when they get thirsty, it could have a different reason.

Before you water, you should do a quick inspection. Does the plant have enough light? Are there any visible bugs? Is the soil still wet, might it have been overwatered? All good reasons your plant might be wilting.

If your plant is wilting but happy with the light, there are no bugs, and the soil is dry, go for it, water away.

5. Indoor plants need a lot of sunlight.

Yes, some plants benefit from a lot of direct sunlight. But it depends on the plant.

Most indoor plants prefer less sun and will suffer from sunburn when placed in direct sun all day. So move your plant further away from the window or put a sheer curtain between to soften the rays.